Temporary Overdose Prevention Site

Temporary Overdose Prevention Site/Supervised Consumption Sites

Hours:

The Temporary Overdose Prevention (TOPS) is Ontario’s first officially-sanctioned temporary site for people to use their drugs safely and seek services for recovery.

Approximately 400 people have lost their lives to addiction in London and Middlesex over the past decade, making supervised consumption facilities sorely needed. These facilities have been shown to improve public order – reducing needle waste and public injection – as well as public health. People tend to use drugs in public areas because they don’t have a safe location to do so otherwise. Supervised Consumption Facilities provide people with a safe and clean place to use drugs.

From the opening of the TOPS program on February 12, 2018 to February 24, 2019, we have had 13,719 visits, reversed 83 overdoses and referred over 700 people to medical, addiction treatment and other social supports in the community. Police report no increase in crime-related incidents as a result of TOPS and we have helped to facilitate safer injection practices with all those who access the service. This reduces the risk of overdose and the spread of diseases, such as hepatitis C and HIV, and provides an opportunity to connect people who use drugs with treatment and support services in our community.